Men’s Soccer Advances to A-10 Championship

(Photo via Olivia Shirk)

TJ Thompson | Sports Editor

The University of Dayton Flyers men’s soccer team advanced to its second straight A-10 championship game after a 2-0 win over Fordham Wednesday night.

The scoring started early when graduate student Hjalti Sigurdsson converted with a header off a corner kick from sophomore Martin Bakken in the fourth minute, this was his eighth goal of the year. No more scoring occurred in the half, making it 1-0 Flyers going into the break. Heavy rain over Baujan Field welcomed the second half.

After a slow start, Dayton Senior Ethan Sassine put another ball into the back of the net, securing his sixth goal of the season and putting the Flyers up 2-0 at the 68:36 mark. Worsening field conditions made a comeback nearly impossible for the Rams and the Flyers would go on to win and advance to the A-10 championship.

The game was filled with cautions, with eight going towards Fordham and only one to the Flyers. A red card given to Fordham junior Andre Insalaco late in the game led to his ejection.

The Flyers were aggressive having more than double the shots on goal as the Rams, 30-13, with a 6-1 corner kick advantage. Graduate student goalkeeper Dario Caetano had his fifth shutout of the season.

The Flyers will face six-seed Saint Louis at Baujan Field on Sunday at noon for the A-10 championship. The Flyers are looking to go back-to-back after defeating VCU last year.